


Spiderweb

by Hayato (TheLennyBunny)



Category: Coraline - All Media Types, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Supernatural Elements, ive been writing this since may 20th bc im lazy, uhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 07:37:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12228471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLennyBunny/pseuds/Hayato
Summary: For his high school graduation, Iemitsu takes Nana and Tsuna on vacation to a large house in the middle of nowhere. Tsuna wishes he was somewhere else.It leads to issues.





	Spiderweb

Tsuna stared up at the house, eyeing its clashing decor with dismay. Natsu squirmed in his arms, and he hugged the kitten to his chest, adjusting his hold. His parents were unpacking behind him, giggling to each other and being disgustingly sappy. 

He mourned his summer.

“Tsu-kun, look at how pretty it all is! It’s going to be so wonderful, waking up to this every morning!” His mother squealed wrapping her arms around him. He gave a weak smile in return because, really? As far as he could tell, the house didn’t even have air conditioning. Did it even have  _ electricity _ ? Was this really supposed to be some  _ graduation present??? _

(Though, with how much his father lied about other things, that was as likely as-)

“You should go meet the neighbours! From what the landlady told me, the other flats are all filled. I’ll keep unpacking.” Iemitsu boomed from the truck. Tsuna’s soul shriveled at the idea of dealing with whoever was insane enough to live here.

Oh. Wait. He already had to do that.

“Oh, I should help though! You won’t know where to put anything, darling!” Nana huffed, and Tsuna bit his tongue to keep from mentioning that hey, maybe if he was here for more than a few days every other year  _ he would _ , and jumped when she turned to him. “Tsu-kun, why don’t you go say hello to them?”

Ugh. 

He trudged off, letting Natsu jump down and follow on foot. Paw. The kitten was running behind him, alright. The first floor of the house was cordoned off into two townhouses, one of them now belonging to his family for the summer. He knocked on the other, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot as someone called out from inside. The lock clicked, and the door opened to a young foreign woman staring down at him.

She was tall and tan, probably a European, and wearing clothes that emphasized her... assets. He resolutely kept his eyes above her neck, and waved awkwardly.

“Ah, my n-name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, my family just moved in...?” She blinked, and her face lit up with a smile.

“Oh! The new tenants. My name is Bianchi. I’m surprised you arrived so quickly- your father had told me you would be here by the weekend.” Her smile twitched at that. “Come in, would you like something to eat?” He hurried to follow her as she wandered further into the house, muttering something in a different language. Spanish, maybe? He glanced around as he followed. 

The flat was... spartan. There were personal touches, pictures of family or friends here and there, but the majority of the walls were bare, and the furniture basic. It made him leery, but also got him out of interacting with the rest of the neighbors. So.

Bianchi came bustling out of the kitchen, a plate of cookies and a pitcher of... something in her hands. 

Tsuna resolved not to touch any of it when he saw a cookie twitch. Sitting down was good enough for him.

“Eto... Have you lived here long, Bianchi-san?” She hummed, nibbling on one of her satan cookies. 

“This was a summer home for my family, when I was younger. My younger brother and I used to come here to visit his mother. It was enjoyable, so I came back when I was older and bought it. It's... gratifying, to see others enjoy it like we did.”

“Brother?” He thought back to the photos, remembering a young boy dressed in tiny suits. “Is he the blond boy in your pictures?”

“Ah, yes.” She smiled a little ruefully. It seemed plastic. “He actually disappeared when we were younger. Everyone chalked it up to him running away since he was always threatening to.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He replied awkwardly. The teen bit his lip, trying to think of how to respond to  _ that _ when the phone rang, and Bianchi stood to get it. 

“Go ahead and take some of those if you want, Tsunayoshi-kun. I might be a while with this call.” She called as she hurried into the other room. Tsuna took that as his signal to escape, and picked up Natsu, who had been pawing at one of the sweets.

He yowled, but frankly, Tsuna liked having a living cat.

* * *

 

The less said about the group who lived in the basement... the better.

He was never going to look at pineapples the same again.

Tsuna trudged up the building’s side stairs, rubbing at his arms and hoping to the gods he didn’t trip. Again. Glancing away, he could see his parents must have finished dragging things in. The sky was getting overcast as well, so they had finished just in time. 

The landing was decorated with flowers and strange lawn decorations, statue foxes staring at him beside plant pots. He tried not to be unnerved, but failed. When the teen raised his fist to knock, the door swung open to reveal a... character.

Why was everyone in this building goddamn  _ weird _ .

The fellow grinning at him was albino, pink-purple eyes peeking out from squinted lids. His hair was as messy as Tsuna’s, and his clothes as haphazard. 

“Ah. Tsunayoshi-kun! It’s about time you popped up, all things considered. Marshmallow?”

“Er.” The boy had to cross his eyes to look at the bag in front of his face. “No thank you? Do I know you??” The man waved off his question, wandering inside to collapse on a couch. Tsuna hesitantly stepped in, keeping to the entrance because hey, stranger danger. The flat was as messy as the man, with more unnerving statues and charms.

“Aa, not in this world, no. But that doesn’t really matter! What does though..” And the man paused, rummaging through his pockets, grinning in triumph as he pulled something out, “-Is this!” 

He was holding up a small charm bag, which he tossed to Tsuna. It, predictably, hit him in the face before he could catch it. “Keep that close, Tsu~na-kun!”

Tsuna thought it wise to make a tactical retreat, not that the man seemed to care, seeing as he cackled as Tsuna closed the door. 

He eyed the charm bag as he went down to his own flat, wondering. How likely was it that this was filled with something like poison or dried waste? He squeezed it with his fingers, but could only feel a small ring.

Hm.

The petit teen resolved to put it out of sight and mind, and shoved it in his back pocket.

The house was chaos when he came in, predictably. Iemitsu was yelling something about love and beauty, twirling his mother around and slamming into boxes. They didn’t notice him walking in, or his quick nabbing of as many snacks as possible before fleeing again. Tsuna pretended they at least heard his goodbye, and stumbled out back onto the property. The sky looked worse, and he squinted at the clouds gathering. He sighed.

It’d be better out here than watching Iemitsu get dead drunk.

* * *

It was, Tsuna reflected, goddamn stupid to start wandering the property when he had only seen the house. He had gotten lost about twenty minutes ago, and spent the next forty despairing for his life. Natsu had no sympathy, biting his fingers for treats.

He had found an old, derelict well at a point, boarded up and missing the customary roof. It served as a decent enough seat.

It was quiet, as he sat, and there was hardly any movement beyond the duo. It was a stark contrast to Namimori’s energetic bustle, he gloomily observed, in every aspect. He didn’t know how he was going to get used it. Homesickness surged for a moment, and he hugged Natsu to his chest, wishing he could be back in his room, curled up with a comic.

Then again, that was all he really missed, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like he had friends, or a job. Hell, no one would notice he was gone. That was... depressing. Tsuna sighed again, letting Natsu bat at his fingers.

“You’re certainly pathetic.” Tsuna screamed, not at all high-pitched, and he definitely didn’t jump up, spinning around and nearly falling down.  _ Fuck.  _ A hand caught him at the last moment before his face met the ground, and heaved him back up into a standing position. The stranger just snorted at it all. Asshole.

“Wh-ooo are you?” Tsuna stammered out, eyeing the man with paranoia. He was another foreigner, dressed in an undoubtedly expensive suit and fedora. He was pale, and it made his clothes and hair all the darker. The only splotch of colour was a yellow band on his hat. The stranger smirked, tilting his fedora back so his eyes were visible. Oh. Lovely. Those were black too. Completely. Was that natural?

“Ciaossu. My name is Reborn. I’m the landlord.”

“I’ve already met the landlady. Pull the other one, creepy.” He jabbed a finger in the man’s direction. Reborn just grew more amused.

“Aa, Bianchi? She’s a friend of mine who lives with me.” A pause. “You also realise that wouldn’t disqualify me as a landlord, yes? We could be married.” Tsuna thought back to the woman, and privately thought that it would be a little weird. She was, what, 20? He shook off those thoughts, scowling at the older man.

“Well, why did you sneak up on me, then!?” Reborn shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. He nonchalantly eyed the well.

“Amusement?” 

Aaand that was his cue for not dealing with this shit anymore. Tsuna threw his hands in the air, turning around and stomping away. 

“You realise that’s the wrong way?”

* * *

Reborn and his family got on like fire, sitting around the dinner table with Iemitsu loudly talking about something unimportant. The other tenants had been invited, but the pineapple troupe had declined and Byakuran had waved him off, leaving them only with the landlords at this  _ lovely  _ dinner. Bianchi was beside the dark man, watching his idiot father make a fool out of himself with an amused smile. At Tsuna’s pain or Iemitsu’s stupidity, he didn’t know. Didn’t really care, either, hurrying to finish his food and escape to his room. The others didn’t notice or care, with only Reborn watching him leave. Nana didn’t even berate him for his lack of manners! ‘Twas a miracle.

The teen slumped on the futon, staring blankly at the ceiling above him. The room was barely decorated, with his things shoved in the corner, the boxes left unopened. He doubted that would really change over the next few months. Natsu was curled on the windowsill, enjoying the wind on his fur. Tsuna rolled over, facing the wall, before pausing. There was something wrong with the futon- a lump? He shifted, moving the bedding out of the way. The lump turned out to be a distorted floor board, bending upwards due to something underneath. He pulled at the board, popping it out with ease, and peered into the space.

There were..... Fireworks. He thinks? He plucked one of the smaller ones up, eyeing it. Well. No, that wasn’t a firework. Why the hell was there a stash of explosives under his floor? He carefully shuffled the pile, trying to see how many there were and trying figure out  _ why  _ they were there before spotting something else. It was a small cloth, tied around something. It was light in the hand. 

What was inside was even stranger. A small key, with a slightly mangled handle, and a few flower petals. Tsuna looked at it all, back and forth between the  _ bombs _ and the key, and resolutely put it all back in the hole as quickly and carefully as possible.

No need to jab at an angry dragon.

* * *

The next stretch of time was... dull. Iemitsu and Nana still acted like the move out to the countryside was amazing, and the neighbours were still off-putting and unnerving. Tsuna was left to the wayside, stewing in his emotions and wishing there was something he could distract himself with. Hinting at the stagnation he felt just ended in exclamations of how amazing it was here, and wasn’t Tsuna enjoying himself that was the whole point and did he really need to act dame out here too?

The first time that was said was enough for him to not bring it up again.

Contrary to normal weather, it was constantly raining, the sky overcast and rarely blue. It felt like his mood was reflected in the weather, and only made the teen more depressed. Most days, he holed himself up in his room and read or wandered the grounds with Natsu, watching the cat get into messes.

With his luck, one of those messes nearly led to death.

* * *

Tsuna was wandering aimlessly again, following Natsu as the kitten ran from one thing to another, sniffing all the way. He was watching the clouds, putting one foot in front of the other, when he slipped. Like a goddamn idiot.

The ground was soft due to all the rain, and a good portion of the mulch by the foundation had washed away. The gap left was wide enough for him to slip on, and large enough for him to fall through, after hitting the wall a few times in his struggle.

Tsuna coughed, trying to make sure he didn’t swallow any dirt, and made the mistake of trying to sit up. It was painful, and sent him careening further under the house. It was a few minutes before he tried moving again, glancing around warily.

It was.... Dank. And dark, barely enough light coming from above to see. Natsu was peering down at him from the crevice, meowing. He ignored the cat to look around more. The foundation pillars were fine, if worn with age, he noted, and most of the space was dominated by what must have been part of the underground apartment’s walls. There was also something-  _ strange-  _ he noticed, sitting by one of the larger pillars. He crawled over carefully, praying to every god in the sky that it wasn’t a body.

It wasn’t. It was a torch, of all things, next to a bag full of small clothes. Children’s? But the strangest thing was underneath them. A small door, just big enough for a child, or someone as small, to use. It was sunk into the ground, made of wood, with a padlock keeping it closed. He handled it for a moment, wondering just why such a thing was hidden under the house. 

Natsu wailed again, and Tsuna hurried to quiet him. At this rate, he’d alert his parents, and then the teen would have to listen to word salad for the next two hours.

* * *

The teen honestly forgot about the door under the foundation for a while. It wasn’t important, when he was more busy avoiding his parents and missing home. He would have forgotten it completely if it wasn’t for his creepy landlord.

Reborn had been skulking around for the past week, at that point, looking a mix of annoyed and frustrated; Tsuna made sure to keep out of his way, but it didn’t stop the man himself from hunting him down.

“Have you seen anything strange around here?” The man asked out of the blue one day, scaring the shit out of the teen, who had been debating taking a walk in the forest. 

Tsuna never claimed to have survival instincts, after all.

He shook his head at the man, frankly just wanting to escape, but the memory of the door and floorboard came to mind once Reborn had stalked off. Maybe...? He shook his head. No need to worry about it.

Except he did. Or rather, he contemplated it, because it was better than listening to his drunk father sing at the top of his lungs and yell in a different language. What was there, he wondered? Did the door lead to some forgotten basement? Maybe someone had put it there as a hideaway, to stash something so no one else could get it. And someone else had found it and used it? Considering the flashlight, and clothes.

Would it be better than this?

He pried the loose floorboard open again, staring at the hidden bounty. The key in particular, he eyed, turning it over and over in his hands. A particularly loud clash from the living room had him flinching, and clenching his fingers around it. He glanced down at it one last time as his father’s laughter rang in the background.

Anything was better than being around him.

A few things gathered up, with Natsu in his hoodie and a flashlight in hand, he scrambled out of his window, being careful to close it as he left. It was quiet outside, no crickets or birds chirping. It was almost eerie. But he persevered, heading to the opening under the house that he  tripped slid into. The trapdoor was untouched, the bag of miscellany still there from where he had forgotten it. Tsuna palmed the key, hesitating. 

Lesser of two evils.

The key slid home into the padlock, as though neither were rusty, and the lock opened with nary a sound. With some effort, the teen removed it and ever so slowly, propped open the door.

He couldn’t even scream as everything went dark.

* * *

“Tsu-kun, wake up!” His eyes shot open.  _ Kaa-san?  _ He shot up in bed, scrambling and managing to fall over the edge, because really, really-

The walls were beige, and he could see his desk and his shelves full of manga and what? He was back home? What? “Tsu-kun, you need to be more careful~.” Tsuna turned.

His mother was standing in his doorway, smiling fondly at him, expression tinted with amusement. Tsuna carefully kept his breathing even and not-at-all hyperventilate-y when he looked at her. Oh, she was small as usual, wearing one of her summer dresses with her hair pulled back from her face. Everything was pastels and shades of caramel with her- except for her eyes; the normal brown had been replaced by a dull violet, blank and uncanny.

“Mom?” His voice cracked, and he flinched at it, at her and the pervasive  _ wrong  _ she emanated. His instincts were screaming at him to run. The lookalike huffed, shaking her head.

“Of course, silly! Although I can’t say I’m your first.” She winked, hands on her hips. “Just think of me as your second mother! Your Other mother, maybe? That one does have a better ring on it.”

Tsuna was not deterred from his panic, though he did shift, slowly standing. From here, he could reach the pens on his desk as well as his alarm clock, for all that they were small and light. Any defense was good enough. 

“Where am I?” The Other mother contemplated his question.

“Well, you’re where you want to be, I suppose. You put the key in the lock, and you opened the door, so now you’re where you want to be for a time.” She smiled sweetly at him, violet disappearing for a moment. “You can spend however long you like with me, Tsuna-kun. I promise it will be fun! But first, you need to eat.” 

Tsuna followed her downstairs, because there wasn’t much else to do but huddle on the floor. The house, as far as he could tell, was exactly as he remembered, down to the numerous dents right in front of the stairs from his falls. The smell coming from the kitchen was savoury, making his mouth water and luring him in.

The table was set for two, plates heaped with omurice steaming innocently. The Other mother immediately sat, chattering about the shopping and what Kusano-san next door had done this week. 

Tsuna couldn’t help how he slowly relaxed, letting the words flow over him.

* * *

“Tsu-kun?” A hand was patting at his face. He swatted it away, but it came back, shaking at his shoulder this time. “Tsuna-kun, you need to get up! It’s time for breakfast.”

A sense of deja-vu washed over him, and the boy slowly sat up, rubbing at his eyes with a yawn. “..Mom?” His mother, real eyes and all, stared back at him, exasperated as always. 

“Hello to you too. You need to wash your futon after eating, Tsu-kun- I won’t ask  _ why  _ you didn’t clean up before sleeping, but you went and dirtied it.” He looked down. He was still in his clothes from the other night, dirtied from the climb. They had gotten mud all over everything, which made him grimace.

“I will, I will.” He said, not that she heard. Once the boy was up, the woman had wandered out, humming to herself. He watched her go. Peered down at his hands.

The key was clutched in his left.

* * *

Pretending nothing had happened was easy. No one noticed he was gone, anyways. Iemitsu was gone that morning, leaving a silence Tsuna wasn’t eager to fill. He ate quickly, not hungry in the first place, and washed his dishes before Nana had a chance to. She was bewildered when he left, but...

The sky was overcast again. It seemed to almost be the default out here, leaving everything as dreary as possible. Tsuna stared out, wondering just what to do for the day, maybe he could do... that? Again. When someone sidled up to him and clapped an arm around his shoulders, it startled him.

He didn’t shriek. Anyone who said he did could go suck it.

“Wow, you’re a  _ loud  _ one.” Tsuna glared at the scarred blond next to him. Joshima grinned back, unrepentant. “Listen short stack, why don’t you hang out with us today? Boss wants to talk to you.”

Before Tsuna could refuse, or say anything really, the blond hoisted him over one shoulder, ignoring his screaming in favour or dragging him over to the steps that led to the underground apartments. The others were inside, hanging around with bored expressions or watching the show with amusement.

Tsuna hoped they all died in a fire.

The ringleader of it all, Rokudo, sat on a pretentious divan off in the living room. His twin was next to him, nervously fiddling with something.

“Tsunayoshi-kun! How have you been doing?” Tsuna gave him a flat look, tossed over a shoulder as he was. Rokudo motioned to his lackey, who dropped Tsuna without further ado. In retaliation, Tsuna jerked his leg and rolled before the idiot fell on top of him.

“What do you want?” Tsuna asked instead, because the manners his mother taught him could wait. Rokudo, the fucking pineapple, just chuckled weirdly.

“Oya, so impatient. Nothing like the Young Lion, are you?”  _????? Whuh?  _ “Did you notice anything strange last night, Tsunayoshi-kun? A person lurking around? Maybe came across some old antique?” The brunet fought the urge to stiffen. His instincts were screaming at him to tread carefully.

“...I found some old bombs.” Rokudo blinked. His face sort of scrunched before it smoothed out back into his salesman smile.

“Do you think you could show me them?” Tsuna shrugged, because there wasn’t much else he could do backed into a corner like this, and headed back to his room. Rokudo and his sister followed, quiet as he moved from room to room. He could hear his mother doing something on the small porch that led from the living room, but didn’t bother checking. She wouldn’t mind.

“Your mother is awfully oblivious.” Rokudo commented from behind him. Tsuna... couldn’t disagree.

“I think she has to be, to be married to my dad.” He muttered. It got him a chuckle. His room was untouched, save for Natsu, who had wandered back in at a point and was now scaling the pile of boxes. Tsuna hurriedly moved aside his futon and blanket, resolving to clean them after this farce, and pried open the hidden cache.

The duo peered at it dubiously. “Mukuro-sama...”

“I know.” The older man plucked the cloth out of the mess, unfolding it. The petals fell out onto his fingers, and Tsuna supposed there was something ominous about that, because they were both looking pretty grim-faced.

“Is-is something wrong?” Besides having bombs in the floorboards, he meant. Mukuro shook his head, shoving the fabric and its contents into his pocket. He smiled at Tsuna again, one that wasn’t mean but wasn’t quite kind.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, Tsunayoshi-kun. Although I would advise against sleeping on top of explosives. And to keep clean bedding.” He raised a brow, brown-and-blue eyes flicking to the pile, unimpressed. “Do I even want to know what happened there?’

Tsuna flushed. “I was- tired when I came back in, and forgot to change when I fell asleep.” As evidenced by the jeans and hoodie, did he really need to ask? The duo took their leave after that, one last look shot at the teen. Tsuna shakily exhaled and slid to the floor. He felt like he had avoided something big. Something in his brain was telling him that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

The key was a brand in his pocket.

* * *

A staticy meow finally broke him out of his stupor. He looked up to see Natsu, watching him from the stack of boxes with dilated eyes. Smiling softly, he let the kitten have a go at his hand, wincing slightly at the feel of tiny teeth. With a sigh, he went and gathered his bedding. No need for it to lay around.

It was just warm enough outside for him to hang it all once he was done cleaning it, although he would have to keep an eye on the clouds to make sure it didn’t start raining. Though, now that he was done, what was there to do for the next half a day...

He shuffled, feeling for his pocket. Pulled out the key. It was warm in his hand, despite not being handled.

...

There were already stains on his clothes. Might as well get his money’s worth out of them before he washed them.

Although this time he made sure not to slip.

* * *

This time he came to on the sofa at home, light shining down on his face. N...The Other mother was humming in the other room, cooking something from the smell of it, and the house was quiet besides.

He sat up slowly, letting the quilt over him fall into his lap. The house here really was an exact replica, now that he was getting a closer look. The same colour to the walls, same dents and marks from years of being lived in. Except... no.

He got up, walked towards the hallway, where photos of the family were. Or were supposed to be. He thumbed one frame. It was supposed to be a shot of him and his parents, Tsuna riding Iemitsu’s shoulders as a small child. He had been terrified that day, if he remembered right, scared to be so high up on the shoulders of a man he barely knew. He couldn’t process at that age that the man who sporadically showed himself was his father.

This copy showed Nana next to a beaming Tsuna, standing on his own two feet. Iemitsu was nowhere to be seen. The boy walked down the hall, inspecting each photo in turn.

They were all the same. Any instance of Iemitsu removed, save for a photo of his and Nana’s wedding day. Tsuna supposed it was only his life he really wanted the man out of. “Where you want to be”, the Other mother had said.

It fit.

“...Mom?” The singing stopped, and the Other mother popped her head round the arch, inquisitive. “Could I go out?”

She smiled. “Of course, Tsu-kun! Just make sure you put your shoes on.” And that was that. He slipped on his shoes and made sure he had his house key, although he doubted he would need it. The neighborhood was quiet, trees swaying in a small breeze. He walked around idly, seeing if he could spot any differences. So far, the only one was that his neighbors with the dog were gone, and that there were less signs of people. Eventually, he came upon a park near his house and took a seat on one of the benches. It was.. Peaceful here. In a way that Namimori sometimes held, but without the sense that it would soon end. He closed his eyes and basked in it, yawning into one hand.

“Hello, Juudaime.” His eyes shot open, and he flailed a little, almost falling off the bench. He dragged his head up.

“Hiei- hi? What did you call me?” There was another boy in front of him, fidgeting uncomfortably. He had messy ash-blond hair and green eyes that ducked away from the smaller teen. The button-up and slacks he wore seemed almost at odds with the boy himself. He was eerily familiar. “What are you doing here?” Tsuna wondered.

The blond shrugged. “I don’t know. Why are  _ you  _ here?”

“I crawled through a trapdoor under my house.” The boy ogled at him.

“That’s weird.” But he shrugged it off. “Not as weird as me, I guess. What are you doing just sitting here? Isn’t that boring?”

“It’s calm! You’d want to just sit and enjoy it if you had to deal with what I do.” The blond huffed and sat down next to Tsuna, proper and awkward at the same time.

“Why don’t you tell me, then?”

And so Tsuna spent the next few hours ranting to a boy whose name he forgot to ask. 

* * *

Tsuna came to against the side of the house this time, tired and aching. He flexed his arms, confused, but dismissed it as unimportant. He got up on wobbly legs, slowly making his way round to the door. It was warm and loud inside, and he slipped his sneakers off.

“Tsuna? Is that you?” Iemitsu was in the kitchen, leaning over from his spot at the table. “Where’ve you been all day? We tried to find you for dinner, but, well, we didn’t find you!” 

The boy shrugged. “I was exploring. Sorry.” He rounded the corner and froze. Seated with his parents were the landlords, calm as you please, along with the other tenants. Rokudo and Reborn were tracking him with a laser intensity, watching as he slowly sat and took a serving of his own. He hadn’t realised it until he sat down, but he was starving.

Conversation slowly picked back up from where it had halted, Joshima arguing something with Iemitsu and Rokudo occasionally throwing in a comment that had both of them spluttering. The other three in Rokudo’s troupe were quiet, and Nana held a murmured aside with Bianchi. The stares never abated. It left Tsuna feeling more and more off-center, like something was wrong, tilted, nauseous. Eventually, he pushed away his food, unable to finish.

“Uh, I’m not.. Really feeling good.” He muttered. “I’m gonna go lay down.”

“Oh! Take something if it gets worse, Tsuna-kun!” His mother called as he went to his bedroom, sat down. Went back out and over to the porch, because his bedding was still out there, left the whole day. Natsu meowed at him from the side, but he ignored him for the moment.

He changed clothes, barely keeping his eyes open before he collapsed on the futon. He was just so tired.

* * *

_ That night, he dreams of a long table, shadowed figures staring at him from the seats. An oppressive heaviness made it hard to breathe, made him hunch over and gasp and scratch at his own chest. He bolted up when a hand clamped around the back of his neck and tugged. _

Dim sunlight streamed through the window. Tsuna stared at it for a moment, blinking. Shifted, peering down at the warm lump of fur next to him with a sigh. Another day.

It was quiet when he exited his room. He wondered why his mother hadn’t woken him up for a moment, before remembering how he had left last night. He checked the fridge, and yeah, there were some leftovers from Nana and Iemitsu’s breakfast. He ate it cold.

A quick toss-on of clothes and grab of his bag and he was out. He stared out at the grounds. Headed towards the forest.

Wasn’t like it could hurt any, could it? 

An hour later, he was contemplating a bushel of berries and trying to figure out if they were poisonous or not. Natsu was completely uninterested in them, but the cat also ignored catnip, so he wasn’t a good indicator. He broke off a few, rolling them in his palm.

“If you had touched anything but those berries, you’d likely be bedridden for a week.”

“HIEI-” Oh that was nice he was just so looking forward to  _ slamming into a tree at eleven in the morning _ -

Reborn gave an amused snort behind him, because he was an asshole. “You’re going to hurt yourself wandering around out here alone. More than you have.”

“Well what else am I supposed to do?” Tsuna said crossly, rubbing his sore side. “Sit around and cloud-watch?”  _ I’m not Hibari-senpai!  _ The dark man sent him a contemplative look, before huffing.

“This plant is named  _ Taxus cuspidata _ , or spreading yew. It can grow from ten to eighteen meters tall, with single seeds developing in a berry-like cone.” Tsuna stared at the man. His voice had gained the inflection Tsuna’s teachers’ did during class. He paused for a moment, glancing at the teen. “Well? Didn’t you want something to do? This way, you won’t kill yourself, and something might get past that thick skull of yours.” He turned, walking off. “This tree is a Japanese Chinquapin, or sudaji, which are known to naturally grow in central and southern Japan...”

Tsuna hurried to follow, even if he was confused.

* * *

By the time they wandered back towards the house for dinner, Tsuna was exhausted, if now extensively knowledgeable on various plants and wildlife. Reborn was walking sedately in front of him, looking at some device he had pulled out a few minutes earlier. It wasn’t a phone, he knew that much, but it also didn’t look like... well, anything else someone would have in their pockets.

Nana was discussing food with Bianchi when they got closer, audible through the open windows, and Reborn paused. Glanced back at Tsuna.

“Don’t eat dinner tonight. You’ll be sent to the emergency room if you do.”

Tsuna took his advice and spent that night hungry, if not fatalistic like Iemitsu seemed to be. He had eaten, cowed by Nana’s disappointed pout. Idiot.

He went to sleep, tired. He woke up to Nana shaking him, a worried expression on her face. The sun slanted into his eyes, and he covered his face as she leaned back in relief.

“There you are, Tsuna-kun. You wouldn’t wake up!” She eyed him carefully, frowning. “Are you sure you’re alright? I know you said you weren’t feeling good a few night ago.”

“I’m fine. Just tired.” He rubbed at his face, trying to mask his irritation. Why was she only concerned now, when he was missing half the day and barely talking besides? He didn’t see her open and close her mouth, looking lost for all of a moment before she fixed a smile back on her face and nodded.

“Aa, make sure to go to bed earlier then, Tsu-kun- it won’t do for you to be sleeping in too late, or else you’ll throw off your rhythms!” He made some agreeing noise and watched her leave out of the corner of his eye.

It was no surprise that he bypassed breakfast and went instantly for the latch door, sinking into the other world and its calm familiarity with a sigh. It was so much easier here than in the real world, with no need to maintain a fake smile or his parents’ moods. For all the Other mother felt wrong and the boy familiar, it was infinitely preferable than his reality at the moment. He opened his eyes on the bench, the blond boy sitting next to him, and smiled.

“I never told you my name. It’s Tsuna. What’s yours?”

* * *

“Juudaime, this is Frederico.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Gokudera-kun’s?”

“Something like that. Come here, I wanna teach you something, kid.”

*

“These are my brothers, Massimo and Enrico.”

“Wow, you really do look like him. Your luck’s shit, kid.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. Come here, we wanna show you how to get outta this grip…”

*

“You can call me Giovanni. Or G, I don’t give a shit. I’m the boys’ uncle.”

“Aa. You, uh, look really young to be their uncle.”

“That’s the point, Tsunayoshi. Do you know how to meditate?”

*

“Giotto would love you.”

“Who?”

“My brother. He’s not here.”

“Is your family just obsessed with G names?”

“Child, I will fucking  _ light you on fire _ -”

* * *

Tsuna doesn’t notice himself getting thinner, or his eyes becoming more and more shadowed and weighed down by bags. Nana frets when he disappears each day and tries to talk to him, but Tsuna brushes it off as half-hearted attempts to berate him again. Iemitsu simply watches and tries to misdirect his wife’s worries so she doesn’t notice him attempting to follow the young man.

Tsuna’s staying longer and longer in the other world. Staying here means putting on a mask or wallowing and constantly feeling cold, like it’s the middle of winter; sleeping only brings nightmares and half-choked screams. On the night he goes out at breakfast and wakes up at home past ten, he starts debating not leaving.

He’s losing his grip.

* * *

Someday halfway into August, with the rain pouring down outside, Tsuna is stopped from doing his usual disappearing act.

Reborn’s standing in the entranceway, watching him with the usual terrifying laser intensity. Tsuna blinked at him slowly.

“Reborn? What are you doing here?” The older man huffs and reaches out to smack Tsuna upside the head. “OW-  _ what the hell, Reborn!? _ ”

“Today, you’re going to learn how to take a punch.” The dark man said patiently. Tsuna stared at him.

“You mean learn how to hit?” Reborn smiled. It was not a nice smile.

Three hours later, Tsuna had bruises in places that hadn’t hurt since last spring, and now knew that if you put your thumb in your fist  _ you will fucking break it, don’t do that you little shit _ .

Tsuna was sore, tired, and pushing out breaths like a fucking steam train at the end of it, but he also felt more alive than he had in weeks. He doesn’t know where the fire had gone, these past days, but now that it was back it was as if he had slowly frozen over in the meanwhile.

“You’re not complete shit, for a hikikomori.” Reborn commented, because that was his version of a compliment. Tsuna flapped a hand in his direction, and groaned when Iemitsu appeared on the edge of their tiny clearing. The blond’s face was bemused as he looked between the two.

“Dinner’s almost ready if you want to eat, Tsuna.”  _ For once _ , went unsaid. Tsuna winced. Yeah, that… His mother was probably worried out of her mind with how he’d been acting.

“Alright, I’ll be uh, right there.” Iemitsu nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Do you want to join, Reborn?” The man hummed, eyes still on Tsuna’s back. 

“Sure. Why not.”

* * *

_ He was back at the table. The faces were less shadowed now, half-familiar, and Tsuna squinted at them, trying to remember where he’d seen them, where where where _

_ They had chains around their necks and their mouths were gagged, eyes all pointed to him as they silently screamed and he tried to stand and run but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t turn or stand or scream out and hands were dancing along his neck, stroking at his collarbone and slowly closing and squeezing and Tsuna couldn’t move them couldn’t pull them off he was  _ **_cho king_ **

_ A burst of orange and yellow flares in the black-and-white and the hands around his neck abruptly loosen and Tsuna  _ **_breathes_ **

Tsuna shoots up, panting and shaking. Natsu whines in protest at the movement and he moves to shakily pet the cat, trying to quiet his breaths. He’s drenched in sweat, and the moon’s still shining through his window.

He knows he won’t be sleeping again tonight.

* * *

The urge to fall back into the pattern is hard to fight. He feels the pull to go back, idles around the side of the house enough to have his mother making conversation with him and for Byakuran to leer from his landing. He  _ wants  _ to go back, Nana’s sudden, apparent interest in him and Reborn’s attention aside. He misses talking to Gokudera-kun and learning strange things from G and Frederico, yelling at Massimo for stupid comments and sitting with Enrico. He misses the quiet that never felt lonely and the old warmth of his hometown, unsullied by the regular bullies or worries.

His dreams become more unsettling, and he wakes up every night shaken to the bone no matter what he does. There’s always someone behind him, gripping and choking, taking away his breath and energy until he’s left gasping and scratching at his own throat for relief. There’s always, now, a burst of orange and yellow that abruptly stops the attack and force him awake. 

One night, he stumbles into the bathroom, wanting to rinse his face, and turns on the light to see purple fingermarks lining his throat.

He stares as they slowly fade to light pink within five minutes.

That night, he goes back.

* * *

He’s not in Namimori. It’s the house, not yet divided into apartments, and the clearing seems less developed somehow, hints of civilization diminished. Tsuna walks around warily, wondering at the change of scenery as he opens the door to what should be his own temporary home.

The door opens to a long room, with a table that stretches the whole length. There are nine seats, with a tenth taking center place. Tsuna stops in his steps and has his breath catch in his throat, phantom hands reaching around his throat and  _ squeezing _

“Tsunayoshi-kun.” Tsuna spins around, almost falls down from the force of it. Behind him is a tall man, likely as tall as Iemitsu, with strawberry blond hair and orange eyes. His hair’s a disaster like Tsuna’s, and he’s dressed fit for a relaxing afternoon with a flimsy button down and shorts. When Tsuna faces him, he smiles.

“Who are you?” 

“My name is Ieyasu. Although I’m surprised that you are wary, at this point.” He raises a pointed brow. Tsuna bristles, but then realises that he uh, kind of has a point. “Do you know where you are, Tsunayoshi-kun?”

Tsuna looks around dubiously. “Uh. The house in the middle of nowhere?” 

“Mm, technically. But I meant specifically  _ this space _ . Do you know where we are, in this little pocket?” He didn’t. His face said as much, and Ieyasu’s smile gained a wry tinge. “This space is completely fabricated, Tsunayoshi. It shouldn’t exist.”

Tsuna ogled at him, and startled when a rumble sounded out in the distance. The sky was growing dark, greying out the landscape, and the trees were… weird, seeming to thin and stretch. Ieyasu looked back with a smirk before turning back to him. 

“Don’t you mean doesn’t?”

“No,  _ shouldn’t _ . It does exist, on some level, it just shouldn’t for how many laws of nature it violates.” The man clarified cheerfully. “It’s a space made by a bitter, hateful man who cannot let go, I’m afraid.” the rumble intensified, and the trees really  _ were  _ stretching at this point, lengthening and curling towards the house. Dimly, Tsuna thought they almost looked like walls, meeting to form a… cage. “You’re starting to get it.” Ieyasu said knowingly.

“Why are we here?” Tsuna whispered, watching everything slowly corrupt, darken. Ieyasu reached out and clapped him on the shoulder.

“We are here because you play the perfect bait and prey, Tsunayoshi-kun. Fortunately for you, I refuse to allow you to play either.” The rumbling reached a crescendo, vibrating his bones. “This will hurt, so I apologise in advance. Remember the ring.”

Tsuna couldn’t respond as Ieyasu’s hand lit up in bright, blinding colour, orange fire engulfing it and quickly Tsuna’s shoulder and arm. He screamed but it didn’t sound as he was quickly swallowed-

And suddenly standing in the entryway of his apartment, molten rock in his chest, shuddering and staring out at the gravel road. His legs gave out, and he sat on the wood of the doorstep as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

“Tsuna.” He turned his head. Reborn was standing by the corner of the house. He had a gun in his hand and a smile on his face. “We need to talk.”

* * *

Reborn is relentless in drilling every little piece of information out of him. He doesn't act like any of it is strange despite the magic doors and mysterious copies of people, although his face darkens with each name Tsuna mentions. By the end of it, he’s pacing in the small parlor of Bianchi’s home, muttering to himself in another language. Tsuna fiddles with the key he’d pulled out at some point, staring down at the little thing and wondering how it could have caused… all this.

Reborn stormed out, and comes back a few minutes later with Rokudo in tow. “Repeat what you just told me,” He demanded. Tsuna does, even if his voice is hoarse by the end.

“An illusionist, for sure. A very old one.” Rokudo says when he’s finished, face grim. “One with a grudge against the Vongola, since Gokudera seems to be an outlier.”

“There are no known illusionists that have been at odds with the Vongola. They make sure of it.” Reborn countered. Rokudo raises an eyebrow.

“No one is saying they need to be enemies to hold a grudge, Arcobaleno. Or have you forgotten what can happen when someone is seemingly betrayed by their famiglia?” Famiglia. Arcobaleno. Those are foreign terms? He thinks they’re, uh, Spanish? Italian?

Italian. The creepy looks and the gun. Oh god. 

Reborn cursed and ran a hand over his face. “How the fuck are we supposed to take out someone who’s managed to stay alive this long? Fucking Mist users.”

“I’m a Mist user.”

“You’re also here as a trial, Rokudo, so shut the hell up and start planning.” 

“Can someone  _ just explain what’s going on!?”  _ They both pause, staring at him. Rokudo makes to open his mouth, but Reborn glared him into submission.

“The issue here, Tsunayoshi, is that this property is known for an inordinate amount of deaths within our organisation.” He explained smoothly, face drawn. “Along with missing cases, these deaths happen with no precedent or evidence towards them, and have been disruptive since the First. We were sent out to investigate, and your father offered to assist us.” Ieyasu’s words ring in his head, echoing.

“Bait.” He says it without meaning to. Reborn looked at him sharply.

“Excuse me?”

“You- we, we’re supposed to be bait, aren’t we? To draw out whatever you think’s doing this.”

“That’s-”

“Well, it’s not  _ that  _ simple.” Rokudo sent Reborn an unimpressed glance.

“Really, Arcobaleno? Because I was under the impression you three were sitting like ducks for something to attack them-”

“ _ Trial _ , Rokudo,  _ keep your fucking mouth shut _ -”

Tsuna leaned back as the two continued bickering, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa. He shifted again, and again, before twisting around with a frown and patting the cushion.  _ Something  _ was poking him in the ass. The cushion was smooth, so he checked his back pockets next, pausing when he felt something in one. He slid out a small bag, staring at it incomprehensibly before realising, remembering, oh. This was that thing the creep upstairs gave him. He carefully opened the bag and let the ring drop into his hand, turning it this way and that. It was a dull thing, unpolished silver with an orange stone inlaid in the middle. He idly put it on and marvelled at how well it fit. 

_ Remember the ring. _

“Tsunayoshi?” He glanced up, and froze.

Mukuro’s right eye had changed colour, shifting from blue to an unsettling red, pupil replaced by the kanji for one. He was wreathed in amorphous, indigo shapes from head to toe, circling him in lazy patterns. Reborn, in contrast, glowed like there was a fire under his skin, pale countenance now a rosy golden. The black of his clothes and eyes had shifted to a warm thing, unlike the cold shadows of before.

“Um.”

“What is that, Tsunayoshi?” Reborn asked slowly. Tsuna looked from the ring, back to him.

“Byakuran gave it to me?” Both men stared.

“Who the hell is Byakuran?”

* * *

Superpowers exist, and Tsuna’s life is a bad supernatural novel. He’s walking around the house right now, peering around for any remnants of “Flames”, which are apparently just glowy, overly-colourful clouds. Sometimes.

The padlock door, when Rokudo had examined it, was apparently  _ saturated  _ in Mist flames, to the point where the thing should be practically indigo with how strong they were. It explained why no one had been able to locate it before, without assistance. Such as the ring, or Tsuna’s little key.

Something rustled out of the corner of his eyes and he paused, searching the treeline for whatever moved. A second later, Natsu came bolting out, yowling at the top of his lungs. Tsuna barely had time to grab him, soothing spiked-up fur and cooing at the cat. He noticed, with a sinking feeling, that Mist flames were stuck to the cat like burrs. Tsuna looked at the forest with a foreboding feeling and nausea in his stomach.

If he was going to be the guy who dies in the horror movie, he was telling his mother he fucking loved her first.

He went back inside, calling out for Nana and peering into the kitchen. The house was empty, appliances untouched and lights off. The nausea increased.

“Tsu-kun?”  _ Don’t turn around _ . “Tsunayoshi, there you are! I’ve been looking for you all day. You didn’t show up for breakfast.” Needles are crawling up his back and his instincts are screaming at him to run, go away  _ get  _ as _ far away as possible _

He turns. Nana is standing by the door to her room, pouting at him with familiar fondness and exasperation. Her eyes are a dull, lifeless violet, and indigo wraps around her like chains.

“You’re not my mother,” He whispers. Its face contorts, lips pulling back against needle-thin teeth and eyes going flinty and dark before it’s back to Nana’s gentle edges once more.

“She makes a good puppet though, doesn’t she?” The mocking tones hit the air like knives. Tsuna takes a step back, chest vibrating with heat. The thing follows. “You can’t escape, Tsunayoshi-kun. Why not make this easier on both of us? I just want that little warmth of yours.”

Tsuna flees.

* * *

The forest swallows him as he huffs, running as fast as his weak legs can carry him. The trees are dark pillars, and when it starts raining, the landscape fades to an encompassing grey. He isn’t paying attention to where he’s going, only following instinct.

_ Dodge. _ Something whispers, soft. He takes a dive as something heavy rushes where he just was, slamming into the tree next to it.

“ _ Stop running _ ,  _ Tsunayoshi _ .” It’s Iemitsu, eyes as blank and dark as his mother’s had been. He has knuckle dusters on and a gun in hand, and the most terrifying grin Tsuna’s ever seen. A gunshot rings out, and the thing riding his father ducks with a curse.

“ _ RUN, TSUNAYOSHI! FIND THE ANCHOR!”  _ It’s Reborn, toting a shotgun longer than Tsuna’s arm that’s glowing with yellow light. He shines like a supernova, bright and dangerous.

Tsuna runs, even if he’s no idea what an anchor is, or where he’s going. The sounds of fighting continue behind him, and he flinches when he hears the report of a gun. He knows he can’t stop to see.

The sounds don’t fade the farther he gets, and he’s confused for a brief moment before the trees thin enough for him to see the front of the house again. Rokudo was on the front lawn back to back with his twin, and the rest of his troupe had been… taken. Rokudo wasn’t pulling any attacks, downing his people every other hit. But they didn’t stay down, despite whatever injuries they must have had, and Tsuna could see it was starting to wear on the twins.

He ran on.

The sky was wool grey and the trees black monoliths by the time he slowed to a stop. He couldn’t see through the pulsing in his eyes and pain in his chest, but the noise of battle had long faded. It was another clearing he had found, and he gratefully collapsed on the grass, hunched over his knees.

When he looked up, everything was steeped in colour.

Threads of it were spun around the trees, tangling with each other and creating webs of indigo and red and orange that all led to the middle of the clearing. He followed the path with his eyes, and saw the old, derelict well he had found at the beginning of this all.

A man sat on it, smiling kindly. He was dressed in the styles of a military long gone, and had a face similar to Rokudo’s. When Tsuna saw him, his smile widened to something decidedly less pleasant.

“Tsunayoshi-kun. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Tsuna tried to move backwards, but he was frozen. “Ah, there’s no need for that, is there? We’re just having a nice talk.”

“Y-you’re the one doing all this.” He whispered. The man cocked his head.

“Am I? From what I’ve seen and heard, I would say none of this is my own doing. After all,” He stood, slowly ambling over to the frozen boy, “If your parents had paid more attention, been less wrapped up in their own worlds, they would have noticed you slowly drifting. All those students and teachers, insisting you were worth nothing. It must have hurt so much to have your own mother echo it.” He reached a hand out as if to caress Tsuna’s cheek. Tsuna flinched as it nestled in his hair. “Hayato-kun, Enma, the boys… They were all like you, Tsunayoshi-kun. Shoved aside by their ilk when they were suffering. I helped them all, in the end, and they were thankful for it.” 

Tsuna’s limbs felt heavy, and he couldn’t fight it when the older man pulled him against his chest. Cold was spreading to his limbs, and panic was slowly swallowing him. “You look so much like him.” Murmured against his ear, hands curling lovingly around his throat. “I wonder if you’ll gasp like him?”

_ No _ . The heat in Tsuna’s chest bursts outward, and he’s finally able to scramble away as the man hisses and flinches backwards. He looked down, and sees orange writhing along his body, swallowing him up. It’s not painful or cold, like the others, instead engulfing him in a sense of calm.

“ _ Giotto _ .” The man hissed, and he was distorted now, like Nana had been, needle teeth creeping onto a too-thin face with darkdark eyes glittering above. “That interfering traitor. No matter, you’re weak enough that his little tricks won’t slow me.” He reached out again to grab Tsuna, fingers claws and hands a trap, and the teen jumped up and away, dodging. They continued the dance until Tsuna made a wrong move, stumbling against something solid. The man took the opportunity to grab him, shoving and holding him against a hard surface as he struggled.

“There, now was that so hard?” He cooed as he reached reached reached, claws sliding around Tsuna’s neck and  _ squeezing _

He scrabbled, the fire flared, and his chest  _ burned _ ,  _ he needed air _ , and neither of them considered what happens to old, rotten wood when you set something burning on top of it.

The planks covering the well crumble seemingly soundlessly, and suddenly Tsuna’s airborne, falling and watching the sky become smaller and smaller. Tsuna screamed, and then it was all dark.

* * *

Tsuna wakes up. He honestly wasn’t expecting that. Everything hurts, and he’s pretty sure something’s broken, but he’s blearily staring up at the small circle of colour that must be the opening to the well, and he’s  _ alive _ .

He shifts hesitantly and flinches when something sharp pokes him in the back. It takes a bit of maneuvering and figuring out which arm is broken- the left one, great- before he can reach under and grab it, holding it up in the dying light.

It’s a femur.

He. He doesn’t really process that, at first. Just sort of. Stares at it, for a long moment, shaking it a little as if it’ll make noise like a rattle.

Then he screams and hurls the thing as hard as he can. It comes straight back down, so it doesn’t do much in the long run. He squirms more, horrified, and there are significantly more sharp points digging into his back now that he notices, and he realises, belatedly, unwillingly, that  _ he is lying on top of a skeleton. _

He sits up because  _ fuuuuuuuuuuck no _ . Then has to pause for a moment, because his head swims and static fills his ears until the feeling passes. He hesitantly presses the unbroken hand to his head, feeling about it, and pulls back to a hand covered in red.

He resolves to ignore it.

There is a skull near his foot, and ribs arching his legs, and a hand right near his. He snatches his own away when he sees that. And then, then he realises he shouldn’t be able to see it at all, with how dim the light is. It was hard enough seeing the bone he’d held up right in front of his face.

It’s glowing. Dim enough not to hold colour, bright enough to be distinguishable. He holds up a hand and, woah uh, he’s glowing too. His skin has a soft, peach colour to it, like a plush toy with a light in it. He pinches himself and watches orange rise up to the pressure point before fading. He looks from his arms to the bones.

When he tentatively picks the femur back up and squeezes it, it flares a violent indigo. Find the anchor, Reborn had said. Considering the remains in front of him and the web he saw above, he can safely say he’s pretty sure he succeeded. What now?

Something winks above, and he peers up to see bursts of indigo light, shadows occasionally covering the well opening. Distantly, someone’s screaming, a roar in the background managing to faintly vibrate the stone, even down here. 

“...Hello?” He calls.

“ _ VONGOLA!”  _ He flinches and decides, welp, not answering  _ that _ . Although, wasn’t that the thing Reborn and Rokudo had mentioned? Something about betrayal and illusions and it was all so weird? How did they say it all with a straight face? He’s getting off track, isn’t he.

Hm. He stares at the bone in his hand. It does not stare back. It is an impolite asshole. Wait, no. He blinks, shaking his head once. He’s- he’s getting, weird? Delirious. Blood loss does that.

He needs to act quick. But what what what? What is he supposed to do now? Reborn didn’t say anything, probably didn’t think he would actually find it. He pouts at the man’s lack of faith and taps his femur against the arm nearest to him. What do anchors usually do?... Hold things in place?

So if he gets rid of the anchor, the things won’t be able to hang on, right? Like the creepy guy.

How does he get rid of the anchor? He taps the femur against his stomach idly, smiling at the bursts of colour. Pauses.

Well. That’s one way. How did he pull on all that, again? Creepy Beepy had grabbed him, was ready to do, do something weird and unpleasant and probably fatal, and Tsuna had panicked, had felt with all his will that  _ no, that wasn’t going to FUCKING HAPPEN- _

His hand lit up with orange. Overhead, there was a long, drawn-out scream, but he didn’t hear it, as entranced as he was by the colour. Tsuna smiled slowly as the colour spread across the bone, enveloping it completely.

He dropped into the chest cavity and contentedly watched the whole skeleton eventually be swallowed by it all, dozing in a pit of warmth and serenity.

* * *

“Tsuna. Tsuna!” He wrinkled his nose and turned his head. “Sawada Tsunayoshi, if you keep ignoring me I’m throwing you back in that goddamn well.”

Tsuna opened his eyes, because that was a pretty good threat and he was at least coherent enough to understand it was bad. Reborn’s pale face was situated above his, black eyes piercing into his. The man leaned back with a relieved sigh when he finally responded, running a hand through curly hair. “Thank fuck. Timoteo would kill me if you kicked it.”

“ _ I  _ would kill you if Tsuna died.” Tsuna blinked, and shifted ever-so-slightly to see Iemitsu, leaning heavily against a tree and scowling. He had multiple cuts and bruises, and blood stains that suggested bullets. He was watching Tsuna with a careful expression on his face, a mix of worry and wariness that seemed out of place compared to his usual brain-dead moods. “Tsuna? How are you feeling?”

Tsuna stared at him. “‘rm hurts. ‘N head.” He finally slurred out. He let his eyes roam around the clearing. The webs were gone, remnants hanging off trees limply. “Wh’re’s Cr’py?”

“Creepy?” Reborn gave him a blank stare. Tsuna gestured vaguely with his unbroken hand and close his eyes. He was so tired.

“Blue. K’nda looked like R’kudo?” Iemitsu made a disbelieving noise.

“Daemon. It was  _ Daemon- _ ?”

“Apparently. Shouldn’t you be more focused on finding medical help?” Tsuna heard Iemitsu curse and heavy steps, before the clearing was quiet again. Reborn hummed next to him, and there was a hand on his arm, gently manhandling it into a lap.

“This is going to hurt at first, but you need to stay still.” He quickly reset the arm and Tsuna nearly  _ screamed _ , but it was so much effort just to wheeze and squirm at the moment. “Good boy.” Then warmth flowed through his arm, soothing the aching and making him sigh. “You did well, Tsunayoshi. It’s a good sign for the future.” 

“Mm. ‘Yasu n’ By’kuran helped.” A hand ran through his hair, and he leaned into the touch.

“Nevertheless. Rest now, Tsunayoshi.”

Tsuna slept.

**Author's Note:**

> COME YELL WITH ME ON TUMBLR  
> THENIGHTISDARKANDFULLOFBOOTY.TUMBLR.COM


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